The document discusses several topics: 1) The proposed amendment to India's Citizenship Act to absorb religious migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh is praised, but it is suggested to also extend protections to other persecuted religious groups. 2) India is called to respect the rights of all people on its territory and address reports of mistreatment of some migrants. 3) Most states in the world today are described as "utterly callous" towards citizens like women and minorities, making them illegitimate. An international mechanism is called for to compel fair treatment of citizens.

1. T
he National Democratic
Alliance Government led
by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi deserves
applause for having
proposed an amendment
to India's Citizenship Act in order to
absorb herein migrants who have
come to India fleeing religious
persecution in Pakistan and
Bangladesh. Hopefully, New Delhi
would extend this grace not only to
Hindus but also Buddhists,
Christians, Zoroastrians,
Bahai’s, Sikhs, Jains and
non-Wahhabi-Deobandi
Muslims--Ahmadis Shias,
Mohajirs – who all face
such persecution in the
neighboring nations.
I would suggest New
Delhi may take appropriate
care also of other kinds of
migrants and refugees
living in India . It is not a
signatory to the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention.
Under that Convention
New Delhi would have
been obliged not to send any
refugees back home against their
will if they feared threat to their life
or freedom.
India is a signatory to the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Under this Declaration,
“everyone has the right to seek and
to enjoy in other countries asylum
from persecution.” New Delhi has
to respect the rights and freedoms
of all people living in its territory.
Like it or not, India, has not done
very well on this front. There have
been reports from time to time on
various kinds of maltreatment
meted out to certain migrants
across the country. ( http:// www.
independent. co.uk/ news/world/
asia/racism-in-india-blamed-for-
unrest-in-the-streets-as-african-
migrants-claim-they-are-victims-of-
discrimination-9085426. html
[independent.co.uk] ). Appropriate
steps have to be taken to address
such aberrations at the earliest in
our Republic.
Pertinently, all civilized states
would have to address the problems
of minorities or refugees living in
their territories. Ask Palestinians in
the Arab world ; non-Wahabbis in
Saudi Arabia; Shias and Kurds in
Turkey ; Azeris, Kurds, Balouch,
Ahwazi Arabs, Lurs, the Jews, the
Baha’is and Zoroastrians in Iran;
Christians in Iraq, Indonesia, the
Gaza Strip, Egypt, Sudan and
Nigeria; the Yezidis in northern Iraq;
Kurds, Christians( including
Assyrians, Melkites , Maronites ,
Druze) and Armenians in Syria; the
Berber/Amazigh peoples in
Morocco and Algeria; Tamils in Sri
Lanka; Catholics in Northern
Ireland; Basques in Spain;
Corsicans in France; Muslims in the
Philippines ; Albanians in
Macedonia or Yugoslavia ; Abkhazis
in Georgia; black Africans in
Mauritania ; and so on. They all
have more or less the same story of
the ordeals they face
in their respective
lands .
No nation,
h o w s o e v e r
e c o n o m i c a l l y
advanced it may be, in
the world today can
afford to
accommodate all
such victims . The
problem has to be
addressed at its root
itself . The evil rests in
the nature of most of
the states (ruling elites
) in the world today.
They are utterly callous towards
their citizens -- women and
minorities in particular . Such states
are absolutely illegitimate by any
definition acceptable to any civilized
segments of the world community
in modern times .
The existing scenario demands
an effective international
mechanism to stop any state in the
world from being unfair to any
select segments of citizens . The
mechanism may make it mandatory
for all states to civilize themselves
States unfair to citizens
Most of the states in the world today are utterly callous towards their citizens.
They are absolutely illegitimate by any reasonable definition of the state in
modern times, asserts Jagdish N Singh
September 2015 Power Politics 29
REALPOLITIK
Refugees from Pakistan

2. political elites and their allies,
mercantile or intellectual , alone
and compelled their citizens to
migrate to other nations for the
sake of their political or economic
existence . There is no dearth of
rulers around who themselves
wallow in the cesspool of luxuries
while their citizens are sweating
blood abroad .
Sorry, I cannot brag about my
own India’s rulers on this front. Too
much has already been written
about the predicament of the have-
nots, including women, dalits,
tribals, minorities and conscientious
Power Politics September 201530
REALPOLITIK
Defence self-reliance
I wonder how parochial those who
speak ill of Muslims in India are. In
medieval times rulers like Razia Sultan
and Akbar the Great contributed a lot
to our nation. In modern times we
have had statesmen like Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad and warriors like Brigadier
Mohammad Usman . The other day
we lost yet another legendary figure
from this community -- our eminent
Scientist -President A P J Abdul Kalam.
President Kalam was a king of
millions of hearts in India. Glowing
tributes were paid to him across the
entire national spectrum. We all know
one of his dreams was to make India
self-reliant in the field of defence. The
best tribute to him would be to move
forward in this direction. Presently,
there are so many international
regimes restricting our access to
technology for credible deterrence.
They include : the Nuclear Suppliers’
Group, the Australia Group (chemical
and biological warfare), the Missile
Technology Control Regime, the
Wassenaar Arrangement on exports of
conventional arms and duel use goods
and technologies.
Self- reliance is the best answer to
all such regimes. It is heartening to
learn that the task force set up by the
Ministry of Defence to review our
defence acquisition system has
recently submitted its report. The
panel has recommended that defence
procurement be handled by the
military and the bureaucrats stay out
of the whole picture. I hope the Modi
government is taking it seriously.
and treat all their citizens and
inhabitants fairly in order to claim
any legitimacy in the contemporary
international system.
The behavior of most of the Arab
states, in particular, deserves to be
rectified urgently. They are all
united---- constitutionally and
operationally both --- in their
hatred against women and
minorities .They have little respect
for pluralist values.
Also, there should be some
mechanism to see to it that no state
adopted such policies and
programmes as benefited the
individuals , in India today.
Our political elites have done
little to end the ills of ethnic
polarization, rights violations,
groups marginalization and denial
of development fruits to the
masses. They are often too
obsessed with their own economic
and social status .
Architect of independent India
and our first Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru had once dubbed
the Indian bureaucracy as ‘caste.’ I
wonder how he would have
categorized our politicians today if
he were alive !
A P J Abdul Kalam
Judiciary in bad shape
There is something terribly wrong
with our judiciary today. Millions of
cases have been pending in our courts.
Life is short. Justice delayed is justice
denied.
The system is biased in
favour of the privileged . Most
often, the rich can easily manage
bail while the poor have to languish
in jail . None still seems to realize
it hurts a poor person more if
he or she has to spend even an hour
in jail.
Various reports show our taxpayers
have to pay a lot more to keep alleged
criminals and a far less on their
victims. Eminent lawyer Prashant
Bhushan has recently said 17 people
have evaded tax worth
two lakh crore rupees. I wonder
who protects them and if the
elements behind such tax evadersHandcuffing the ordinary

3. Uncertain future
Will the agreement of August 3,
2015 the Centre has reached with the
Isak and Muivah-led National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (NSCN) click ?
Knowledgeable sources say the
future of the pact is uncertain. It is just
a ‘framework agreement’ for a final
solution . The status of this agreement
is high. The Ministry of Home Affairs
did not play any major role herein .
The Prime Minister himself directly
supervised the talks in the matter.
After the signing of the agreement
Prime Minister Modi talked about
restoring the ‘pride and prestige’ of the
Naga people. The
NSCN(I-M) agreed to shun violence
and resolve all issues peacefully.
Muivah talked about taking all Nagas
into confidence for India’s needs.
It is to be seen if and to what extent
the agreement works . The NSCN was
formed by Isak Chishi Swu, T. Muivah,
S.S. Khaplang and others. The NSCN-K
faction is still out of the deal. Besides,
Nagaland’s adjoining states are totally
opposed to its idea
of Greater Nagaland. Also, there is
little consensus across the Indian
political spectrum on
the issue.
Maintaining peace
On the occasion of our 69th
Independence Day last month the
Indian Army hosted the Chinese
People's Liberation Army to a
special Border Personnel Meeting at
Chushul in Eastern Ladakh. The
Chinese delegation was led by
Senior Colonel Liu Geping. The
celebration showcased the Indian
culture and traditions wherein apart
from traditional dances and songs,
an old form of martial art called
‘Gatka’ was performed by the
troops. The day marked a
momentous occasion in India-China
relations as the new Border
Personal Meeting Point on the
Indian Side was operationalised in
line with the Border Defence
Cooperation Agreement ( October
2013) . This will be the Northern-
most meeting point between armies
of both countries on the Line of
Actual Control near Daulat Beg Oldie
(DBO) on the Indian side.
Earlier, on the occasion of the
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Day
there was a ceremonial Border
Personnel Meeting (BPM) at Chinese
BPM Hut in Moldo Garrison in
Chushul Sector of Eastern Ladakh.
The PLA hosted an Indian
Army delegation for the first time
REALPOLITIK
September 2015 Power Politics 31
can ever be brought to book .
It would perhaps be too much to
expect anything concrete from the
prevailing judicial system. Like many
other institutions of our Republic, it
seems to be failing. Even the Supreme
Court of India is not in the shape it
ought to have been. The Government
thinks the collegiums system for
appointing its judges was not good . It
has come forward with a new National
Judicial Commission ,through a
constitutional amendment, to make
such appointments.
In the collegiums system of
appointment three most senior judges
played a crucial role . Now it is to be
done by a six member team—
consisting of the Chief Justice of India,
two most senior Judges, the Law
Minister and two eminent persons.
The eminent persons are to
nominated by the CJI, the Prime
Minister and the Leader of the
Opposition in the Lok Sabha . The
Supreme Court is not inclined to it and
is hearing the related case before it.
in the area of Daulat Beg Oldie.
Such measures must go on. They
are likely to boost the two nations’
commitment towards maintaining
peace along the LAC. Like all other
major world capitals , New Delhi
must make the best use of the area
of its own interest convergence with
Beijing. There is no point seeing
relations among nations in black
and white terms. There are so many
shades of grey. This all depends on
the given context.
A near consensus across the
Indian strategic community goes
that there is a web of inter-
relationships among nations today.
None can escape it. China is a
rational, credible
partner today. Sino-Indian relations
are on firm footing . There are
elements of cooperation and

4. Is Tehran serious about the
nuclear deal it has recently signed
with P5 plus one powers ? It does
not appear to be .
Reports are that Tehran is not
inclined to granting access to its
scientists and military officials. The
United Nations International Atomic
Energy Agency cannot conduct
essential interviews to resolve the
outstanding questions over Iran’s
past work on weaponization. The
final deal of July 14 in Vienna
requires the IAEA to provide an
assessment over the possible
military dimensions (PMDs) of Iran’s
nuclear program by December 15.
Besides, Major General Qassem
Suleimani, who heads the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-
Quds Force, visited Moscow the
other day despite being under a
travel ban and United Nations
Security Council sanctions that
REALPOLITIK
Power Politics September 201532
Lack of sincerity
prohibit him from leaving Iran.
Suleimani met Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister
Sergei Shoigu.
It is alleged that during the war in
Iraq, Suleimani was responsible for
the deaths of hundreds of
Americans. Outgoing U.S. Army
Chief of Staff Ray Odierno said once
: "Qassem Soleimani is the one who
has been exporting malign activities
throughout the Middle East for
some time now. He's absolutely
responsible for killing many
Americans. In fact I would say the
last two years I was there the
majority of our casualties came
from his surrogates, not Sunni or Al
Qaeda."
Michael Barbero, a retired U.S.
Army lieutenant general, who
served three years in Iraq, said, “For
a deal that is putatively focused on
just Iran’s nuclear programme, this
empowerment of Iran’s terrorist in
chief is inexplicable.”
Suleimani has allegedly been
behind training and supporting the
forces of Bashar al-Assad in Syria
and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as
leading Shiite militias in Iraq.
Suleimani was also designated for
his role in the plot to assassinate the
Saudi ambassador to the United
States in 2011.
Major General Qassem Suleimani
Collective self-defence
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe has recently got his security
legislation passed in his parliament.
It is now before the upper house.
Knowledgeable sources say Tokyo
is all set to abandon its war-
renouncing Constitution focussed
on self-defence. The proposed
legislation would replace the self-
defence doctrine with “collective
self-defence.” This would allow
Japan to send troops abroad to
rescue allies under attack.
During Abe’s visit to the U.S. in
April 2015, Toyo and Washington
announced new security guidelines .
Washington wanted Tokyo to take
“more responsibility” in their
bilateral security arrangement.
Recently, Abe has also proposed
a “strategic diamond” of four
maritime democracies — Japan, the
U.S., Australia and India — to
counter Chinese influence in the
Pacific. He has been critical of
Beijing’s territorial ambitions in the
South China Sea. Tokyo and Beijing
have a dispute over islands in the
East China Sea held by Japan.
The sources suggest Japan should
be wary of joining any game
between the U.S. and China in the
Pacific . Instead, it should focus on
solving its own problems with China
bilaterally and work towards
essential regional stability.
conflict. Conflict has to be converted
into cooperation. New Delhi would
do well to proceed with the
consensus reached between the top
leaders of the two sides in
the recent years and promote
bilateral relations in all fields .
Both sides should maintain a
positive momentum of talks at all
levels , enhance cooperation in the
United Nations, BRIC , the G-20.
They must push the international
order in a fair direction. They
must control disputes and
ensure peace and stability along
the border to create
favourable conditions for border
negotiations.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe